TWO Brits have undertaken a gruelling challenge to hitchhike from Asia to the UK in an effort to raise money for charity – and with no budget.
Kieran Brown from Sidcup, Kent and Joe Martin, from Derby, Derbyshire only met four months ago during their separate travels around Nepal.
However the two instantly struck up a friendship thanks to their love of travelling – with both having visited over 40 countries each.
Kieran, 28, and Joe, 25, have since decided to put their newfound friendship and fondness for country-hopping to the test in an effort to raise money for homeless charities across Europe.
The two men are on a 3,000km journey from Istanbul, Turkey to London, in a zero-budget trip that sees them rely solely on the kindness of strangers for transport, accommodation and even food.
The pair are currently 14 days into their challenge, and have arrived in Cologne, Germany – with over 500km still to go.
Despite this, the pair have already smashed their minimum fundraising target goal, with their GoFundMe page currently sitting at £2,178 at the time of writing.
Kieran has also been uploading each day’s journey to TikTok where he documents how they’ve progressed – with followers quick to lend their support and amazement at the duo’s efforts.
One user wrote: “People can be so kind.”
Another commented: “The further west you go, the harder the challenge become.”
Another wrote: “Imagine trying to do this as a woman.”
Speaking today bartender Kieran said: “Joe Martin and I have travelled extensively and wanted something to challenge us and get us out of our comfort zone.
“Joe posted the challenge on his Instagram story asking if anyone was interested in doing this and I was the only stupid person to agree to it.
“We want to highlight human kindness and show that countries that are sometimes portrayed as ‘dangerous’ are filled with kind and genuine people who will go out of their way to help.
“We didn’t plan anything for the trip or a specific route, we even didn’t buy sleeping bags until the day before the challenge started whilst in Istanbul.
“The only thing we had was the starting point which was on the Asian side of Istanbul – with hitchhiking you can never plan any route. As long as it’s in the direction of west, we have been taking it.
“It’s given us the opportunity to visit towns and cities off the beaten track in the countries that we have passed through that we would not have usually visited.”
Kieran continued, explaining the difficulties faced the longer the journey goes on: “As for how it’s going, it’s very good so far.
“On the first day we managed to get all the way from the Asian side of Istanbul to the border of Turkey and Bulgaria, we also got featured on BBC News.
“The last few days have been tough and the closer to home we are getting, the harder it is to get people to pick us up.
“Every day there has been highs and lows and sometimes when we feel at breaking point something or someone positive comes our way which just shows that kindness is everywhere.
“We have been blown away by how nice people can be.
“People that have never met us and owe us nothing have gone out of their way to house and feed us although some days we have had to spend the night rough and hungry.
“For sleeping we have used the app Couch Surfing a few times, they can list a room in their house on the app and you can stay for free and just exchange convos about culture and various things.
“When we have stayed, they are aware of the challenge and have usually made us something to eat and give us a bag of stuff such as cereal and protein bars which we have rationed.
“Some days we have gone extended periods of time without food and have relied on blackberry bushes and plum trees, a few of the nights we have slept rough.
“We haven’t felt like we have been in danger at all. Sleeping rough always has its risks but we try to find secluded areas away from cities.
“Everyone who has picked us up has been lovely and most have offered us food and drink.
“[We slept] One night in an abandoned building in Haskovo, Bulgaria and under a bridge in Belgrade in Serbia.a
“People have reached out via Instagram or TikTok to help us too, but as part of the rules, we can only accept help from people we haven’t previously met in real life.”
Kieran explained: “We are currently on day 14 and are in Cologne in Germany.
“As for the language barrier, we have been using Google Translate but after we reached Croatia, everyone has spoken English.
“We would hope to be back in London ideally before my birthday on 26 August but it’s been extra tough the last few days.
“I think being able to hitchhike over the channel, whether it be on the train or the boat, is going to be the toughest part.
“We choose homeless charities in Europe because it makes sense. We are homeless and hungry if people aren’t willing to help us.
“The trip has highlighted how tough it is for people less fortunate and has made us both more compassionate towards homeless people and will be making more of an effort to help and feed them.
“We plan to split the final donation about between the countries we end up passing through, it will be the final amount split nine ways, one homeless charity per country.”
To donate to the pair’s cause, please visit the GoFundMe page: https://gofund.me/1144cbc4
